Tales of the 41st Millennium
by Castellan Aukusgrad
Summary: In the 41st millennium the forces of the Imperium of Man struggle vainly to hold back the encroaching darkness that seeks to end mankind's rule of the galaxy. As the worlds of the Emperor fall one by one the enemies of mankind find themselves in conflict with one another with ever increasing frequency.
1. Down in Flames

**Down in Flames**

From his vantage point at the hatch of the Valkyrie Gunship, Sergeant Dieter watched as the ruins of the imperial city burned. Distant explosions illuminated portions of the city as the Valkyrie passed overhead. Pillars of smoke snaked into the air from burning rubble, providing cover for the aircraft. Throughout the city Imperial Guard regiments clashed with the forces of the Ruinous Powers. The Imperial lines were marked by the red flashes of lasguns which were barely visible from the Valkyrie's hatches. Commanding the center of the Imperial lines was the Stormblade, Nexus of Loyalty. The light of its plasma blastgun discharging lit up the entire area with blinding flashes, drawing most of the enemy fire to it.

"ETA, four minutes," The voice of the pilot buzzed over the onboard vox system, "Descending to drop height."

The nose of the Valkyrie angled downwards and Dieter grasped the edge of the hatchway to maintain his position. Behind him the other nine members of his squad were busy prepping their gear for the drop. Several of the Guardsmen had been issued with specialized gear for their current mission. A meltagun, and a flamer were carried by the two largest members of the squad. While another carried a demo charge, two others carried melta bombs. One Guardsman had been issued with a long range vox-caster. Bulky grav-chutes were secured on their shoulders above their packs. Respirators and visors fastened over each of their heads rendered them all faceless. Their squad had been handpicked by the regimental commander.

After several minutes the Valkyrie leveled out, the fires in the city disappearing behind it to be replaced by bombed out ruins from the initial traitor attack on the planet. "ETA one minute to the reactor, get ready Sergeant."

Reaching up Dieter pulled the visor of his helmet down and secured his respirator. With a hissing breath he activated the vox bead at his throat, "Comm check, sound off." One by one the members of his squad activated their own vox beads. "On your feet Guardsmen."

The troopers stood and filed into position behind their Sergeant. Gripping the hatch Dieter pulled it open, the blast of cold air that rushed into the compartment almost knocked him off his feet.

"Thirty seconds, Sergeant."

Just before Dieter could signal the drop the Valkyrie lurched to the side as an explosion shook the hull. Guardsmen were thrown from their feet and Dieter had to grab the edge of the hatchway to keep from falling out. The voice of the pilot came over the vox system, "We're taking ground fire, left wings been shredded."

Gripping the edge of the hatch Dieter peered downwards. Far below he could see the bulky shapes of defensive turrets angled upward, spitting hundreds of rounds into the air. "Up and out Guardsmen." Dieter ordered.

One by one the Guardsmen leapt out the hatch, disappearing into the night sky. Before the Sergeant could take his turn a second explosion hit the rear of the Valkyrie, tearing through the hull. ""I'll keep the guns busy. May the Emperor protect you, Sergeant, give them hell." The pilot shouted as the Valkyrie began plummeting earthward.

Throwing himself clear of the hatchway Dieter clamped his arms against his sides as he angled himself towards his dropping squad. Frigid air ripped at Dieter's jumpsuit as he hurtled towards the ground. Directly below him was the sprawling form of the reactor complex. The forms of Dieter's squad were silhouetted against the light coming from the reactor.

Anti-air fire still poured out from the around the complex. Tracer bullets flashed past him, chasing after the damaged Valkyrie. A stream of rounds swung wide of the Valkyrie and Dieter saw one of his men shredded as the slugs tore through him. With his descent uncontrolled he fell behind as Dieter sailed past him. Murmuring a quick prayer for the soldier he kept an eye on the counter inside his visor as the ground rushed up to meet him.

Spreading his arms and legs he controlled his descent, aiming for the landing pad situated on the roof of the reactor. Underneath the edge of the pad stretched a field of pipes that disappeared into rockcrete structures. Below him he could see, one after another, the grav-chutes of the others open as they neared the roof. At the last moment they altered their trajectory, sweeping past the landing pad to land among the labyrinth of pipes. Dieter kept on target, aiming for the center of the pad. Too late he saw a group of three heretics standing at the edge of the pad. His teeth jerked as the grav-chute deployed only ten meters off the surface.

Landing heavily he rolled with the impact. Two of the heretics turned as he rolled, reaching for laspistols on their belts. Coming to his feet Dieter pulled his bolt pistol from its holster. Two rounds connected with the first heretic, blowing apart his sternum and knocking him off the landing pad. The remaining two had time to draw their weapons from their belts before both of them were killed by shots that punched through their armor.

Dieter swept his pistol across the landing pad, checking for targets. Finding none he clapped his hand over the release button on his grav-chute, letting the bulky piece of equipment fall from his back. Moving off the pad and down a set of metal stairs he activated his vox bead, "This is Dieter, sound off." After a moment of hearing static he repeated himself.

The electricity generated from the complex was apparently interfering with the vox-network, even at this range. When no answer came he drew his chainsword. He started moving again, his bolt pistol extended in front of him. Going down another flight of stairs he emerged into a hall lined with a tangle of pipes. Checking down both ways he moved off in the direction that he had seen his men land.

Peering around a corner he recognized the red robed figure of an enginseer standing at an open panel on the wall. A large pendent hung from its side bearing an eight pointed star. Dieter swore under his breath as he saw the hunched shape of a gun servitor standing guard over the enginseer, a heavy bolter in place of its right arm. The servitors head swiveled around to face the corner that Dieter was crouched behind. "Intruder armed. Terminate." A mechanical screech was broadcasted from the vox unit mounted on its chest. "Terminate, terminate."

Ducking back into the hall, Dieter heard the heavy sound of the servitor's metal shod feet moving towards him, repeating its directive. Dieter dropped his chainsword as he snatched a fragmentation grenade from his belt. Pulling the pin he hurled it around the corner. He heard it roll down the hall before it detonated. The heavy steps of the servitor faltered, its voice cutting off in a hiss of static.

Dieter looked around the corner. The grenade had blown up at the servitor's feet, tearing apart most of the organic components and also crippling one of its legs. Further down the hall the enginseer was laying on their side, holes in its robes marking where the shrapnel had pierced. Still standing the servitor, unaware of the techpriest's condition, continued limping forward. The heavy bolter opened up and Dieter pulled his head back as the wall cracked under the impact of the bolter shells.

On the verge of throwing another grenade around the corner Dieter stopped as a blinding flash illuminated the hall. He stuck his head out to see two figures in the black jumpsuits of his squad standing behind where the servitor had been, a meltagun cradled in the arms of one of them. The other carried a vox-caster on their back. The only remains of the servitor were a pool of steaming protoplasm and metal.

Scooping up his chainsword Dieter stepped out into the hallway. The second Guardsmen snapped their lasgun up to point at the Sergeant's head before they realized who he was. "Sorry, Sergeant," They said as they lowered the weapon.

"Did you see where any of the others landed?" Dieter walked over to them, skirting the puddle of molten servitor.

"I saw the others land further out than us, Sergeant. We couldn't raise anyone on the vox network so we headed towards the sound of fighting." The meltagunner said.

A groan came from the collapsed enginseer as they began to push themselves off the floor, the mechadendrites on their back beginning to move slowly. Pointing their lasgun at the techpriest's back the Guardsman fired a single time, burning a hole through the red robes.

"Let's hope we can regroup without running into any other hostiles." Dieter said.

The sound of a footstep had all of them raise their weapons to point down the hall. "I think that it's too late for that sir." A Guardsman said as they walked down the hall. Crouched down behind them were three of the other Guardsmen. Dieter breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that one of them had a cluster of melta charges hanging from their belt.

"What do you mean?"

"We ran into PDF renegades. Killed most of them but a few of them ran off before we could get them."

"Then we have to move now before they find us." Dieter stood.

"What about the others Sergeant?"

"We don't have time to look for them; they know how to handle themselves."

"Yes sir."

From a pocket on his combat webbing, Dieter pulled out a rough map of the reactor complex and spread it out on the floor. "We need to move to the other half of the complex, we can either go on ground level or there are several catwalks that go between the two structures."

"Most of their men will probably be on the roofs after they shot down the Valkyrie." One of the Guardsmen added.

Dieter traced his finger along the map, "Ground level it is then, nearest stairwells down the hall and the second left."

Folding the map back up Dieter stuffed it back into his pocket as his squad hurried down the hall, their weapons held at the ready. Leading the way Dieter was the first person down the stairwell. They encountered no resistance as they hurried down four floors of stairs to ground level. His squad formed up on the hatch as he placed his hand on the activation rune. The hatch slid to the side soundlessly and his squad ducked out with him on his heels.

A wide stretch of rockcrete stretched about twenty yards between the two structures. Down the path Dieter could see the remnants of the complexes defenses, most of them destroyed completely during the initial attack. "Get down now!" A voice whispered over the vox-network.

"Who is this?" Dieter thumbed his vox-bead.

"There's a traitor Chimera about a hundred paces from your current position, Sarge. It hasn't spotted you yet."

Dieter crouched down as he recognized the voice, gesturing for his men to do the same. Peering around he spotted the front end of a Chimera sticking out from around the corner of the building. "Where are you Guardsman?"

"There are three of us in the old defensive emplacements Sarge. If you're careful you might be able to get to us without the traitors spott- Wait, they've spotted you, run Sarge!"

Dieter ran as the blinding glare of a searchlight illuminated his squad. He could hear the dull rumble of the Chimera's engine as it sped towards them from around the corner of the building. Moving as fast as he could while crouched, he managed to circle wide of the vehicle, his squad right on his heels.

The beam of the searchlight moved across the rockcrete as the Chimera spun around, its turret coming around to point at the Guardsmen. Ruby beams flashed from its multilaser as the vehicle started back towards them. Seeking refuge behind a pile of sandbags the Imperial's fired back ineffectively with their lasguns. Three other Guardsmen ran from a separate position and jumped behind theirs, one of them carrying the demo-charge.

Clapping the Guardsmen carrying the meltagun on the shoulder Dieter pointed towards the vehicle, "Take it out!"

Standing up the Guardsman took aim but was forced down behind cover as a hail of bullets rained around their position. On the rooftop of the structure across the open ground cultists were lining the side of the railing, firing their autoguns. "Suppressive fire on the rooftop, now Guardsmen." Dieter shouted.

Forced deep into cover by the Chimera's multilaser the Guardsmen reoriented their lasguns, managing to pick off several of the cultists. "On my mark Guardsmen, take that tank out." Dieter ordered.

The meltagunner nodded as Dieter pulled a smoke grenade from his belt. Counting down quickly he hurled it towards the Chimera as it bore down on them. Dark smoke poured out of the grenade, obscuring the Guardsmen's position. The flashes of the multilaser went wide as the gunner lost their targets. "Three, two, one, go now!"

Heaving himself over the sand bags the Guardsmen disappeared into the smoke cloud as fire from the cultist's weapons rained down around him. Dieter ejected the spent clip from his bolt pistol and slid a fresh one in as he heard the whoosh of the meltagun discharging. The cloud of smoke was swept away as the top of the Chimera blew apart, sending bits of shrapnel flying everywhere.

Dieter ducked down below the edge of the sandbags. He felt several bits of shrapnel ricochet harmlessly off his armor, even as one of them sliced through the sleeve of his jumpsuit. The man crouching next to him fell back, a twisted piece of metal embedded in his neck.

A grenade thrown by the heretics sailed through the air and landed right next to him. Instinctively Dieter grabbed it and hurled it away to explode harmlessly on the rockcrete. "Take cover behind the Chimera, suppressing fire on the roof!" Dieter ordered.

Firing off one more round the Guardsmen leapt over the sandbags and rushed towards the wrecked Chimera. The Guardsman with the meltagun was already taking cover behind the vehicle, holding a hand to a sizeable gash on his leg.

"Who has the melta charges?" Dieter shouted over the roar of autogun fire striking the Chimera's hull.

"I've got them Sergeant." One of the troopers shouted back as they fired around the side of the vehicle at the cultists taking cover on the rooftops.

"Sarge, we have incoming!"

"We've already got incoming." Dieter shouted back.

Thundering footsteps shook the rockcrete beneath them before the Chimera was thrown to the side, scattering the Guardsmen. Knocked onto his back, Dieter looked up in horror at the walker towering over him. The Chaos Dreadnought surveyed the Guardsmen sprawled before it with contempt. The power fist on its left arm crackled as its energy field activated. Rearing backwards it let out a monstrous roar that reverberated in the air, "For the dark gods!"

Fire continued to rain down from the cultists on the rooftops, forcing them back towards cover. Guardsmen scattered as the Dreadnought charged towards them. Its torso pivoted to track the Guardsmen, its right arm glowing blue as the power of its plasma cannon built up. Dieter threw himself flat as it discharged, the shot flared over him towards another of his men. The plasma bolt caught the Guardsmen in the back, his body vaporizing instantly along with the area around him.

"Everyone back into the complex now." Dieter shouted into his vox-bead scrambling to his feet.

The remaining members of his squad began to run back towards the door that they had exited from. Seeing its prey escaping the Dreadnought roared in rage and began pursuing them. Its plasma cannon began charging up as it raised its other arm and fired its bolter. The spray of explosive shells sped past the retreating Guardsmen, striking the rockcrete around them.

One Guardsman had bolter shell strike her just at the bottom edge of her carapace armor, deflecting some of the damage but still tore a bloody gap into her hip. She pitched forward onto the ground, her lasgun sliding out of reach. In a vain attempt to escape she began pulling herself forward, her legs dragging limply behind her.

Stopping above her a Guardsman grabbed her arm and tried lifting her only to be pushed away. Dieter seized the back of his armor as he ran past and shoved him towards the door, "Leave her Guardsman!"

The Dreadnought fired its plasma cannon again; the bolt going wide of the retreating Guardsmen, striking near the door they were headed for. As the Dreadnought stalked towards the fallen Guardsmen she pushed herself to her feet, almost collapsing again from the effort. Sparing a glance over his shoulder Dieter saw the Guardsman pull the demo-charge from her belt.

Shooting forward with a surprising burst of speed the Dreadnought raised its crackling powerfist. With a roar of fury it shouted, "Blood for the Blood God!"

As the fist came rushing down towards her the Guardsman threw herself forward, triggering the demolition charge as she collided with the walker's torso. The explosion shook the ground and obscured the area with a cloud of smoke.

Roaring in anger the Dreadnought stumbled out of the cloud, its left arm reduced to a shattered mess. Its sarcophagus swung from side to side as it sought to reacquire its targets. Cries from the heretics on the rooftop drew its attention away from the Guardsmen. In its fury it spun towards the cultists, the Dreadnought began recharging its plasma cannon to fire at them.

Ducking back into the complex Dieter slammed his palm on the door's activation rune, the steel hatch slamming shut to the screams of the cultists. "Is anyone injured?" Dieter said as he surveyed the remaining five squad members. The Guardsmen all shook their heads. "Where's my meltagun?"

One of the Guardsmen gestured to the hatch, "Somewhere out there, Sergeant. I lost it when the Chimera was thrown."

"Where are my melta charges then?"

"He's dead Sergeant, the plasma got him."

Clenching his fist Dieter slammed it into the metal hatch. They needed the charges to complete their mission, disabling the reactor. The meltagun would have worked in their stead but that was no longer an option. "When we were coming down I saw one of the men get hit, he had the other charges. Did anyone see where he came down?" Dieter looked towards his men.

The Guardsmen with the flamer stepped forward, "He came down right beside me, Sarge. I didn't even think to grab the charges."

Sighing in exasperation Dieter said, "The Emperor provides the tools we need, lead us back there."

Dieter took up his position in the formation as the squad moved back up the stairs towards the roof. Several times as they advanced the whine of lasgun fire would come from the front of the column accompanied by the frenzied screams of cultists. Moments later he stumbled across the bodies, each of them riddled with lasburns.

After going up several flights of stairs they emerged back into the night air near where Dieter had landed. The squad took up defensive positions around the area as Dieter and the Guardsman with the flamer moved to the same pad that he had landed on. Kneeling down the Guardsman looked out, "I came down somewhere out there Sarge, I don't know where." Pulling the magnoculars from his belt, Dieter pressed them over his visor. Turning his head slowly he looked out over the field of piping, looking for the lost Guardsman. "Sarge, I can see a grav-chute."

Swinging his head around Dieter surveyed where the trooper was pointing. The dark cloth of the grav-chute was caught on the edge of an immense pipe, leaving the Guardsman's feet dangling above the blood pool beneath him. Dieter swept the surrounding area for hostiles to see three cultists in flowing robes were moving towards the downed Guardsman.

Pulling his pistol from its holster Dieter said, "Let's move,"

The squad formed back up and moved down a flight of stairs, their combat boots ringing on the metal. Weapons held at the ready Dieter lead them towards the downed Guardsmen. He peered around a corner to see the three cultists standing around the body, searching him.

Stepping out into the open Dieter raised his pistol, the weapon kicking in his hand as it fired. Blood erupted from a cultists' shoulder as the bolt round detonated, severing the arm. Spinning around the three of them began sprinting towards him; the one missing the arm seemed oblivious to the pain. His remaining squad members formed up behind him, the three with the lasguns began hosing the cultists with las fire. The cultists almost made it to Dieter before they were killed, their bodies riddled with cauterized holes.

"Someone cut him down." Dieter ordered as he switched his pistol's clip.

Striding forward the Guardsman who had had the meltagun pulled a combat knife from the top of his boot. He began sawing through the ropes of the grav-chute as the squad took up position to cover both ends of the hall. Reaching up Dieter grabbed the combat webbing on the Guardsman's back to help lower the body to the ground. The body came to rest with a squish, his carapace armor making a dull sound as it connected with the rockcrete. Dieter reached over and flipped him onto his back, immediately wishing that he hadn't.

Not much was left of the soldier's torso, the anti-air rounds had torn through him. The vest of his carapace armor had cracked inward to expose his now mostly empty chest cavity. Murmuring a prayer for the man's soul Dieter reached around to the Guardsman's side and grabbed the cluster of melta charges that hung from his belt. "I've got them." He said as he secured the charges to his own belt. Grabbing the man's lasgun Dieter held it out to the Guardsman who took the weapon.

"We've got incoming contacts, Sergeant."

A wave of cultists brandishing looted weapons came into the corridor and began swarming towards the six Guardsmen. "Burn the traitors." Dieter ordered.

Stepping up to take position between the cultists and his comrades the man with the flamer lit the pilot light. "Heretics, burn in the Emperor's light." He roared.

He lifted the flamer up and a mass of burning promethium shot out, flooding the hall. The screams of the cultists were drowned out by the roar of the flames. Sweeping the weapon back and forth the Guardsman kept the hall burning as his comrades took advantage of the reprieve to fall back "Get out of there trooper." Dieter ordered as the rest of his squad retreated around the corner of the hall.

Extinguishing the pilot light the Guardsman turned and started running towards his sergeant. Over his shoulder Dieter spotted the dark form of a Chaos Marine with a bolter clamped in his hands moving through flames, unscathed by the heat around him. "Behind you." Dieter shouted as he raised his bolt pistol.

Lifting the bolter one handed the Chaos Marine fired off a short burst. In the process of turning to look behind him the Guardsman did not even have a chance to try and dodge. At least one of the bolter rounds struck the fuel tank that was still clutched in the man's hands. Dieter could only watch as the promethium inside the tank ignited, blowing apart the tank covered the man in the burning gel. His screams were almost inhuman as he flailed about in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames.

Dieter turned his pistol on the Guardsman and commended his soul to the Emperor. The Chaos Marine fired another burst and he felt the round strike his chest knocking the breath out of his lungs. His carapace armor was able to withstand the force of the shells even as it cracked under the impacts. He dove behind the corner as another spray of bolter rounds struck where he had just been standing.

"Move, move, move" Dieter ordered over the vox-network as the thunderous footsteps of the traitor marine began to pursue him.

"There is no escaping the power of Chaos." The voice of the marine came over the vox-network, "The worlds of the false emperor wil-"

Grabbing the voxbead at his throat Dieter ripped it away as the Chaos worshipper continued his blasphemous lies. Stumbling through a doorway into a stairwell Dieter slammed his hand onto the activation rune before firing his bolt pistol into the console. A stream of sparks erupted from it before its lights died. A moment later the Marine smashed his fist into the hatch, the steel denting under the force of the strike. Blows continued to rain down as Dieter followed his squad upwards.

Outside, a burned out shuttle lay on a landing pad, scattered around the wreck were the scorched remains of its crew. A catwalk stretched from the edge of the pad out over the roadway several floors down to connect to the other part of the reactor complex. Skirting the bodies Dieter led the remaining half of his squad out onto the catwalk.

The cries of cultists reached them seconds before a hail of bullets slammed into the metal causeway from the side. Several of the rounds punched through the metal, Dieter jerked as they drove into his armor. Leaning out over the railing he fired his bolt pistol into the men below on the road. Two squads of men in PDF uniforms were taking cover behind anything that they could find as they fired on the Guardsmen.

Las fire poured down as the rest of his Guardsmen joined him. One of the traitors raised a grenade launcher up to his shoulder and fired. A lasbeam struck the man in the neck just before he could pull the trigger, throwing the shot wide.

The catwalk heaved as the grenade's explosion ripped through the end of it. Stumbling backwards Dieter grabbed the railing behind him to keep from falling. His squad wasn't so lucky and they were all sent sprawling.

Twisting his head Dieter saw that the end of the catwalk had been completely destroyed, leaving a sizeable gap between the end and the next building. "Move Guardsmen." He shouted as he returned to firing his bolt pistol at the cultists below.

Coming back to their feet the Guardsmen began moving towards the end of the catwalk. Leading the way Dieter broke into a run and leapt across the gap, his boots barely clearing it to land on the rockcrete. A second pair of boots came down directly behind him as one of his men followed him. Moving away so that the others could make it across Dieter saw the Chaos Space Marine step out onto the catwalk, its bolter aimed at the backs of the Guardsmen.

Bolter rounds shot out to strike two of the Guardsmen, the explosive shells piercing their carapace armor. Their bodies twisted as they fell, blocking the bullets that were meant for the Guardsman with the vox-caster. Stumbling forward the Guardsman missed the jump, they were barely able to reach out and grab the edge of the building with their fingertips.

Throwing himself forward Dieter landed on his stomach with his arm outstretched. Reaching over the edge he seized the Guardsman's forearm just before their grip slipped. Bolter rounds struck the rockcrete around him; one of the shells connected with his helmet and almost took his head off. The cultists joined in, their autoguns pouring out a hail of bullets that did not even come close to their intended targets.

The bursts of bolter fire ceased as the Space Marine ran out of ammo. Dropping the weapon it pulled a bolt pistol and chainsword from it sides. Dieter began pulling the Guardsman up as the Marine charged forward, the catwalk shaking beneath its armored boots. The engine of the chainsword whirred to life as it was raised for a killing blow.

Just as it reached the end of the catwalk the metal gave out beneath the weight of the Chaos Marine. It roared in anger as it dropped down to land with a solid thud four stories down. Dieter spared a glance over the edge to see the traitor already rising back to its feet, undeterred by the fall.

With the help of the other Guardsman, the two of them were able to pull them up. Knowing that the marine was already on its way back to them they began moving immediately back into the complex. Dieter was forced to consult several different maps on their way through the labyrinth of hallways. The three of them were fortunate to not encounter any more hostiles before they reached their destination.

Since it wasn't possible to have a techpriest land with them the Guardsmen had been ordered to force a shutdown. The regiment's techpriests had told them that the best way to achieve this was to concentrate the melta charges in a room called Coolant Control. If control was lost the reactor would being going critical, forcing a shutdown of the entire plant.

The room that the three of them entered was unoccupied except for a half-dozen servitors that were hardwired into stations along the walls. Several consoles sat unmanned in the center of the room, the dead bodies of their operators lay rotting on the floor.

The Guardsman carrying the vox-cater set it onto the floor as Dieter pulled the melta charges off his belt, "Take them and place them on the most important thing you can find."

Taking one of the charges the other two Guardsmen quickly fitted them to the consoles in the center of the room. Activating them, the two of them stepped away. The consoles flared white before the charges detonated, blowing them apart. When nothing further happened the three Guardsmen looked at each other before they all reached for the krak grenades hanging from their combat webbing.

Moving around the room they pulled the pins from the explosives and tossed them near the servitors. The detonations destroyed them, the anti-tank weapons leaving little left. The lights cut out for a moment before they were replaced with emergency lighting.

As alarms began blaring Dieter activated the vox-caster and set it to the command frequency. "This is Sergeant Dieter. Nexus of Loyalty, can you read me."

There was a brief flare of static before a voice came over it, "I hear you Sergeant."

"We were able to destroy the target area Colonel. I don't know if we knocked out the power but the alarms are going off." Dieter heard the sound of a mob of cultists coming towards them, shouting out their allegiance to Chaos.

Taking up position behind the wrecked consoles one of the Guardsman started firing a lasgun down the hall. "They're coming Sergeant."

The chatter of an autogun almost drowned out the Colonel's next words, "The Hammerfall has already been notified and is moving into orbit, it will be in firing position within four minutes. May the Emperor watch over you Sergeant."

Dropping down the Guardsman with the lasgun shouted, "Incoming."

A fragmentation grenade sailed into the room, clattering against the wall before coming to rest in the center of the floor. Dieter dove out into the opposite hall, realizing even as he did that he wouldn't be out of the blast in time. Without hesitation one of the Guardsmen dropped his lasgun. Throwing himself forward he snatched the grenade and pulled it underneath his armor, sacrificing himself. A moment later the detonation threw him into the ceiling, showering the room in his blood

The blast wasn't muffled entirely; Dieter felt shrapnel pierce his shoulder as the heat seared the back of his head. Pulling himself up Dieter looked back to see the last member of his squad lying against the wall, their head hanging limply on their chest. They were covered in blood; he couldn't tell how much of it was theirs. Closing his eyes Dieter murmured, "May the Emperor know of your sacrifice."

Taking the last grenade from his belt he pulled the pin before hurling it down the hallway. The explosion cut off the cultist's cries instantly. Moving to the downed Guardsman he grabbed their helmet and pulled it off, "Are you still with me trooper?"

Her eyes opening the Guardsman nodded, "I'm with you Sergeant."

Dieter smiled beneath his respirator, "The Hammerfall is already inbound; I want to see it when it rains fire on these traitors."

"I won't be able to walk, Sergeant, I can barely feel my legs."

Lying on the floor next to her was her lasgun, Dieter grabbed it and stuffed it into her hands. The weapon slipped from her limp fingers and he stuck the weapon back into her arms, "You're coming with me; I'm not going to let any of these traitors take a Guardsman alive."

Wrapping his arm around the Guardsman's side Dieter began dragging her down the hall, his bolt pistol clasped in his other hand. The sergeant could feel his strength fading from his arm as the wound in his shoulder dripped blood down his side. Tightening his grip on his last squad mate he pressed on as the reactor's alarms continued to sound.

"Our lives for Chaos!"

Dieter let go of the Guardsman as a group of heretics came charging towards them, carrying a variety of improvised weapons. Lifting his pistol Dieter aimed for the lead man as he pulled out his chainsword with his other hand. Two of the cultists dropped from headshots, their deaths throwing the others into a blood induced frenzy.

Moving forward he placed himself between the Chaos worshippers and the fallen Guardsman. Thumbing the switch on the chainsword he activated the weapon in time to meet the charge. His first swing tore through an arm; a second took off the man's head. A crowbar smashed into the back of his helmet, knocking it from his head. He fired a burst from his bolt pistol directly into the chest of the crowbar wielding woman before she could swing again.

Ruby beams flashed from the lasgun of the injured Guardsman as she fired into the cluster of cultists surrounding the sergeant. A second blow to the back of the head made Dieter stagger, saving his life as a knife passed through where his neck had been.

As quickly as they had appeared the cultists were down as Dieter cut through the chest of the last one. The teeth of the chainsword caught on the woman's ribs and he let the grip fall from his hand, his bolt pistol joined it when he realized the magazine was empty.

Rather than grab a new weapon he moved back to the Guardsman and picked her up, the lasgun falling from her fingers as he did so. Slinging her over his shoulder he started walking, "Come on Guardsman, let's go."

Stumbling forward he followed the signs towards the nearest door, which lead to a landing pad. Using his free hand he opened the hatch and stepped out into the night air. His fingers dripped blood as he raised them to the respirator over his face and tore it away, letting it fall to his feet. Pulling in a lungful of air he set the Guardsman down gently with her back propped up against the wall.

The Guardsman's head rolled limply to the side, her eyes closed. Crouching down in front of her Dieter yanked his gloves off and pressed his fingers to her throat. The pulse was weak and he could feel it beginning to slow even further. Sinking down beside her Dieter let his back rest against the wall.

With his head leaning against the wall Dieter looked out over the reactor complex. The alarms continued to blare as the reactor began to go critical from lack of coolant. He smiled to himself, mission accomplished.

At the edge of the horizon, rising high into the sky, he could make out the planetary capital. The dark stone of its defensive wall was illuminated by lights along the perimeter. Massive defensive turrets sat immobile around the wall, the barrels of the weapons angled upward towards orbit.

Craning his neck skyward Dieter smiled as he saw a small gleaming dot move across the night sky. Bright flashes came raining down from the Hammerfall's main batteries as the ship took up station in orbit. The inert defensive turrets were ignored by the battleship as its fire fell within the walls of the city. With the reactor disabled the batteries had no way of stopping the bombardment. More fire rained down on the capital as the rest of the Hammerfall's armament joined in.

Dieter looked straight up, his shoulder throbbing in protest. Far above him he could see the trails of torpedoes as they came down from the Hammerfall. Their trajectory took them away from the other as they sped towards the reactor. Closing his eyes he bowed his head, "Unto death I shall serve him. Unto life again shall I serve him-."


	2. Red Sand Green Blood Part 1

**Red Sand Green Blood**

**Part 1**

Pale sunlight pierced through the layers of the polluted atmosphere reaching the crimson dirt of the planet below. Ruins of manufactorums and hab blocks lay scattered across the barren landscape, their remnants slowly being buried beneath the red soil. The rusting hulks of armored vehicles lay half submerged in the ground alongside the remains of fallen Guardsmen. Long snaking lines across the ground marked the location of trench works manned by Guardsmen in crimson fatigues. Entrenched behind these lines were the massive forms of earthshaker cannons, their barrels pointed out into the wasteland.

Only a scant mile behind their lines rose the massive walls of a hive city. Assembled in the shadow of the city was an armored force of Imperial vehicles accompanied by companies of Guardsmen and their Chimeras. As one the entire force began to move outward into the wasteland towards a billowing dust cloud that obscured much of the horizon.

The dull whine of falling artillery shells was the only warning that the Guardsmen in the first trench had before the entire area was obscured by massive explosions. One of the shells struck a promethium storage tank, which erupted in a massive fireball that devoured the trench line around it. Bodies were thrown through the air as other soldiers beat helplessly at the flames that covered their uniforms. Over the roar of the fire came the sound of hundreds of Ork voices as they bellowed, "Waaagh!"

A rebreather unit fixed across the bottom of his face protected Major Aukusgrad as his Leman Russ drove into the billowing smoke cloud erupting from what had been the forward trench line. Heat sensors built into his bionic left eye picked out the forms of hundreds of Orks just a few hundred yards out, their weapons raised over their heads as they charged headlong towards the Imperial tanks. Vehicles appeared as massive heat blooms, close to two dozen strong. Most of them were ramshackle transports built off the Orks own design, but a couple of them were looted Imperial vehicles along with one immense battle wagon.

Activating the voxbead along his throat, "Nothing but greenskins left out there, boys. Sponson gunners, open fire."

The roar of the engine was drowned out by the stutter of the tank's heavy bolter sponsons as they fired ahead of the tank, their rounds disappearing into the smoke. Flanking his tank, the Glory of Phoenix, were two Leman Russ Punishers, their Gatling cannons beginning to spit out a constant stream of bullets.

Running along on foot behind the advancing tanks were three companies of Imperial Guardsmen, their features obscured by rebreather masks. Chimeras drove among their ranks filled with more soldiers. Leading their charge were figures in black greatcoats, their chainswords and bolt pistols out as they exhorted the men forward.

Status reports from the other units supporting the attack filtered in through the vox-network. Aukusgrad listened to the reports with only half an ear, his attention focused on the enemy ahead. Glory of Phoenix lurched as it crossed the first trench line, giving the fallen Guardsmen a semblance of a burial as the red dirt flooded into the trench. Murmuring a prayer for their souls Aukusgrad focused his eyes forward. With his left eye he saw the front ranks of Orks being thinned out by the barrage of shells, which only seemed to heighten their bloodlust.

Thumbing his vox-bead Aukusgrad ordered, "All tanks load high-explosive and pick your targets. Whoever takes out the most tanks gets a round on me, good hunting."

Spread across half a kilometer the dozen battle tanks in his company loaded their main guns as the other tanks followed to provide anti-infantry support. Calling down to his crew Aukusgrad ordered, "Target the truck headed right for us. I want the lascannon ready to fire as soon as their in range."

Breaking free of the smoke cloud Aukusgrad braced himself as the turret pivoted to track the indicated truck. At the sight of the Imperial vehicles the Ork horde let out a bloodcurdling roar as they surged forward with renewed vigor. Their targets suddenly visible, the sponsons let loose with a fresh stream of shells that churned up the first ranks. "In the name of the Emperor, fire!" He ordered.

He braced himself against the sides of the cupola before the turret rocked as the first shell left the barrel. The smell of propellant flooded up through the hatch as the round found its target. His lips curved up in a smile as the Ork vehicle exploded, the shrapnel enveloping the nearby Orks. More Orks were hurled into the air as the rounds from the other tanks found their mark. "Good shot boys, another truck at one o' clock."

While the crew hurried to reload the main gun the Ork horde opened up with their own weapons. Hundreds of rounds either bounced off the tank's armor or missed entirely. Lacking a pintle-mounted weapon Aukusgrad drew his bolt pistol and began firing off rounds as the Orks began to approach his tank, shouting litanies to the Emperor as he did so. The Punishers did their best to keep the horde back, their Gatling cannons keeping up a constant barrage of shells. Undaunted by their losses the Orks scrambled over the bodies of their head as they pressed in the attack.

The tank rocked again as the main gun fired. Going wide of the truck the round detonated in a cluster of the xenos, throwing their bodies into the air. A moment later the front of the truck exploded as one of the other tanks put a round through the engine. Flipping over the vehicle plowed through a throng of Orks before stopping in a massive fireball.

"Keep firing boys, for the God-Emperor and Phoenix." Aukusgrad ordered over the vox-network.

A sudden wave of heat washed over the turret as one of the Punishers exploded, its turret sent flipping into the air. Training his eyes on the Ork vehicles he saw the smoke pouring from the barrel of one of the looted Leman Russes. "New target, eleven a clock, looted Leman Russ, armor-piercing shell." Aukusgrad barked. As the Orks approached within thirty yards of his tank he ordered, "Hard left."

The tank swung to the side, cutting across the advancing Guard ranks that moved to go around it. Gunning the engine, the driver took them through the crumbled wall of a hab-block. "Emperor blind you, hold steady so I can get a shot off." The gunner yelled at the driver.

"Put us behind some cover; let the infantry get stuck in." Aukusgrad yelled to his crew. Flicking on his vox-bead he ordered his tanks, "Halt the advance, and assume defensive positions."

Slamming the tank into reverse the driver positioned it so that most of the hull was protected by a pile of twisted metal. Pivoting the turret quickly the gunner put the shell right through the turret of the tank, wrecking the main gun. The lascannon fired at the vehicle and took out one of its treads, effectively knocking it out of the fight.

All along the line the Guard tanks pulled behind cover as the Guardsmen took up defensive positions between the vehicles. Forming loose ranks they poured volley after volley into the onrushing Orks. The xenos returned fire, the sheer number of shots they put out guaranteed that some of them would hit. It wasn't long before Guardsmen began to fall, their places quickly filled by the men behind them. The Imperial vehicles added in their own might to the slaughter, each shell taking out dozens of the xenos. Multilaser and heavy bolter fire targeted the larger Orks, leaving the smaller ones for the Guardsmen to take care of.

Despite each of them taking several las-bolts to fell, the Ork line began to break in the face of the disciplined Guardsmen and steady fire pouring out from the remaining tanks. Aukusgrad watched from the cupola of his tank as the attack began to waver. As the larger Orks in the horde died the spirit of the remainder was broken, and they began to retreat.

Reaching down he patted the gunner on the shoulder, "Good job boys, another victory for the Emperor."

"Waaagh!"

The sound of the Ork battle cry drowned out the noise of the fight, and made the ground tremble. Whipping his head around he focused his attention back to the battle. Stretching out behind the Ork force, partially obscured by the smoke of burning vehicles, was a mob three times the size of the one they already faced. With his bionic eye he was able to pick out the forms of dozens more vehicles scattered among the Orks. Galvanized by the arrival of more greenskins, the Orks surged forward again.

"We need fire support and reinforcements now!" Aukusgrad ordered over the command network as his tank's sponsons opened up again. "All units hold their positions! Armored units pick your targets, fire at will."

In the face of a renewed assault the Guard line began to waver, several of the squads turning to run back to the relative safety of the trench lines. Bolt pistols were quickly turned on them by the commissars, most of them fell before they had even gotten a dozen feet. Officers screamed for the line to stand firm, their orders drowned out by the din of battle.

Galvanized by the execution of their comrades the Guard lines stiffened. Volleys of las-fire did little to slow the wave of xenos crashing towards the Imperial lines. Artillery spotters called in support from the artillery batteries stationed in and around the hive city. It was not long before Earthshaker cannons, the smaller Medusas, and even heavy mortars responded.

Explosions erupted among the Ork horde, throwing their bodies into the air. The casualties seemed to have no impact on the xenos as they continued their headlong rush towards the human lines. Heat blooms appeared on the Ork vehicles as their weapons fired. Aukusgrad dropped down into the turret as two of the shots landed nearby, raining crimson soil onto his tank. The explosions rocked his tank on its treads but the armor held.

The nearby Guardsmen weren't as lucky. Bodies were shredded as the Ork weapons easily tore through their flak armor. All along the line Guardsmen were slaughtered as the rounds detonated in their clustered formation. Despite the best efforts of the commissars much the Imperial forces began to fall back. "Stand your ground, damn you." Aukusgrad roared over the regimental vox-network.

Not heeding his words the Guardsmen's lines broke, the regimental commissars picking off men with deadly precision as they attempted to halt the retreat. Grabbing the vox-caster Aukusgrad switched it to the command frequency before saying, "Colonel Arlian, the attacks failed. Request permission to withdraw to the hive city."

The vox-caster crackled before Arlian's voice came over it, "The 31st regiment is moving up from the south. Hold your positions and we can break them here."

More dirt rained into the open hatchway as the Ork artillery continued its deadly barrage. One round landed right next to the _Glory of Phoenix_, rocking the sixty ton tank. Aukusgrad braced himself instinctively as the main gun fired, "Our infantry supports broken Colonel, if we hold for long we'll be overrun."

He could hear someone swearing over the vox-caster before Arlian spoke angrily, "Hold for as long as you can. Give the infantry a head start."

"Yes sir." Aukusgrad switched back to the regimental frequency, "All tanks hold your positions until I give the order."


End file.
